When was the last time you did nothing at all?

It rained this weekend in San Diego. We needed this. I needed this. I lived in Oregon for many years and love nothing more than spending a rainy day inside writing.

That was my plan for this weekend, I was going to sit by the fire all day and work on my novel. Then, I went outside to bring my niece’s scooter in from the rain and it twirled around and hit me so hard on my Achille’s heel that I bent over crying in pain.

It friggin’ hurt.

With that physical pain rose an emotional one, and soon every bit of fear, worry, and anger I’d suppressed these past few weeks came boiling up exploding out of me and I was forced to accept my fate: another family member has cancer.

This friggin’ hurts.

I’ve been beating myself up lately over not writing more. Not working harder. Not making more money. But depression and grief are assholes who won’t let me get anything done.

I know you know what that’s like.

The motto around our house is “bitches get shit done,” but sometimes you just can’t get shit done. Sometimes, you’ve gotta do nothing at all.

Back in the Bawdy Love book promotional days, I used to tell people this all the time:

Have the audacity to stop. Be brazen enough to rest. Be bold enough to declare your body worthy of relaxation.

I should write that on my wall again, reminding myself that it’s okay to take a day to cry on the sofa and binge watch TV.

When was the last time you did nothing at all?

How did it make you feel?

Why do we feel like being lazy is such a bad thing?

Reply to this email and let me know your answers to these questions. Or, if you prefer, use those questions as a journaling prompt. You might be surprised about what comes up.

Reader Teacup wrote in suggesting two books: “A comic called IKillGiants wherein a young girl retreats into a fantasy world as a means of dealing with her life,” and “The Age of Miracles which is about another young girl trying to figure out what it means to grow up while at the same time the Earth begins to slow it’s spin shifting the day/night cycle out of sync.”

Got a book or article you’re loving right now? Reply to this message and I’ll include your recommendation in a future newsletter. Also, let’s connect on Goodreads!

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Letters from Lauren

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